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95-year-old stamp collector mourns theft of his 'life's work'

A 95-year-old man has been left devastated after thieves broke into his home and stole his stamp collection that he started as a schoolboy in the 1930s.

The Solihull pensioner had amassed around 10,000 stamps, most of which were stolen between the 17th and 20th January while he was on holiday.

Police say the stamps are not worth a vast amount of money but that the victim has been left 'truly devastated' by the theft.

“We’ve made enquiries with local dealers and antiques stores and are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have been offered all or part of the collection for sale.

“There are thousands of stamps in the collection but it’s not worth a vast amount of money and, of course, there’s a very limited market available for those responsible to try and sell them on.

“The victim is truly devastated at losing his stamp albums so we’re also asking the people who took them to do the decent thing and return them.”

– Solihull Police

A gold Rolex watch with the engraving 'BMK Carpets 25 years' was also taken during the burglary.

The victim’s daughter, Elizabeth Styles, said her father, who served with the Military Police in the Middle East is deeply upset at the theft.

“He wasn’t a stamp dealer he just loved collecting them and would spend hours browsing through his catalogues and arranging the stamps – they gave him a huge amount of pleasure and he’d much rather flick through the collection than watch TV.

“Speaking to him after the break-in he said ‘they’ve taken my life’s work’ – the stamps meant that much to him and he would be overjoyed beyond any imagination if he could get them back.”